Review of Killers of the Flower Moon

Review of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Rating ****

This is a story of greed, death, and evil. The book starts out slow as the author describes several mysterious deaths involving members of an Osage Indian family. Keeping track of the many characters and untimely deaths makes the early goings a little hard to follow. But once Federal Investigator Tom White arrives on the scene, everything starts to come together.

While many of the deaths trace back to a single individual, there are more than enough bad guys to go around. Is a mass murderer at large? Are the deaths connected? The answers to these questions become apparent as Tom White conducts his investigation. Along the way, the author gives a lot of background on the Osage Indians, mineral rights, and J. Edgar Hoover and the beginnings of what would become the FBI.

The string of deaths recounted in this story take place in the 1920s, but the root cause of the murders is one that has occurred throughout history as well as present time: a belief that an entire class of people are expendable.

If you’re a fan of true-crime dramas, you will enjoy this historical whodunit. The book is a detailed account of the machinations of more than one individual to acquire wealth at the expense of others.